Utah-based EnergySolutions announced Monday that it plans to go private following a $1.1 billion sale to Energy Capital Partners.
In a release, EnergySolutions said its board approved an acquisition agreement that would pay shareholders $3.75 per share, which includes a premium of about 20 percent above its average closing price over the 30-day period ending Jan. 4. The stock closed at $3.73 Monday, up 8.43 percent for the day.
EnergySolutions operates a low-level nuclear waste facility in the Utah desert and holds a contract expiring next year to manage Magnox nuclear sites in the UK through a subsidiary it expressed interest in selling in July. It also holds contracts to decommission Illinois' Zion nuclear plant and assist with water decontamination at Fukushima Daiichi.
"We see a tremendous opportunity for the company to grow its decommissioning and disposal businesses in the United States through strategic partnerships with large engineering and construction firms, expanding its services business with governmental agencies and the rebidding of Magnox and other opportunities in Europe,” Tyler Reeder of Energy Capital Partners said in the release. It added that EnergySolutions would operate as a standalone business with its existing management team intact.
EnergySolutions has until Feb. 6 to solicit superior offers, which it indicated it would do, and the deal is subject to regulatory approval. The same day the acquisition was announced, the Salt Lake Tribune counted four law firms announcing their intentions to explore shareholder class action lawsuits over the terms of the deal.